The two main unions of liberal doctors, among general practitioners and specialists, have announced their rejection of the proposals for new consultation rates: in response, the Minister of Health regrets their lack of “responsibility”.
- The two main unions of liberal doctors, among general practitioners and specialists, have announced their rejection of the proposals for new consultation rates.
- “We are missing an opportunity to improve the care of our fellow citizens, I find that the doctors’ unions are not responsible”, reacted François Braun.
- The six representative doctors’ unions have until Tuesday evening to indicate whether or not they accept the new fee schedule proposed for five years by Social Security.
“There won’t be a deal by tomorrow night, that’s pretty much certain, although I still want to believe in common sense”announced the Minister of Health François Braun this morning of Monday February 27 at the microphone of France Inter. The six representative doctors’ unions have until Tuesday evening to indicate whether or not they accept the new fee schedule proposed for five years by Social Security. It’s a “No“for the two main unions of liberal doctors, among general practitioners and specialists, as they declared on Sunday evening.
Government-backed draft deal about to fall through
The National Health Insurance Fund (Cnam) provides that all medical consultations would be increased by 1.50 euros. For general practitioners, this unconditional revaluation would bring the basic consultation to 26.50 euros, against 25 euros since 2017. Practitioners agreeing to take “territorial commitments“(see more patients, participate in guards, exercise in a medical desert, consult on Saturdays…) would obtain a higher consultation rate, at 30 euros for example for general practitioners, recalls AFP.
Physicians are asked to subscribe to two of the commitments in this list. “And when we say on call, it’s one call per month, so let’s stop saying that it’s an intolerable pressure“, was indignant Mr. Braun. “It’s not working more, it’s working differently” in order to guarantee access to care for all French people. With the rejection of the two organizations weighing more than 30% each among generalists and specialists, the draft agreement supported by the government is on the verge of falling through.
“We are missing an opportunity to improve the care of our fellow citizens”
“We are missing out on an opportunity to improve the care of our fellow citizens, I find that the doctors’ unions are not responsible”reacted François Braun, saying he did not understand “such a closed position”. He also recalled that the proposal represented a State effort of 1.5 billion euros, “more than we’ve ever done in previous conventions“. “26.50 euros is not at all the value of the consultation. A doctor has more than 20% of his income which is made up of a lump sum, paid by health insurance, which makes a basic consultation at €36.50”he also recalled.
Among general practitioners, the question of the tariff was “marginal“in the outcome of the vote, assured AFP Agnès Giannotti, the president of MG France, the most important union of general practitioners, explaining that the practitioners mainly suffer from a”lack of recognition“. With a rejection of the agreement, the new rates will be set by a “arbitrator” – in this case, a senior civil servant appointed by the executive – who will have “three months to propose a text (…) which will prevail for at least two years”said Mr. Braun. “We are going to waste time”he lamented.
Solutions for patients with a chronic disease without a doctor?
Some unions are now agitating the threat of a deconvention of many doctors, eager to regain their tariff freedom. That “would penalize the French even more by creating a two-tier medicine, with only the rich who could treat themselves. That’s not the spirit of Social Security”, judged the Minister of Health. François Braun also recalled that “the average salary of a general practitioner is 90,000 euros per year”. “We can consider that it is a fair remuneration, especially since with this agreement we will add 20,000 euros more per year”he added.
Still, the probable failure of negotiations between Social Security and practitioners will have concrete consequences for the some 6 million French people currently without a doctor. For the 600,000 people with a chronic disease without a doctor, solutions will be found, promised François Braun, specifying that he would make announcements “next week”.
